Studies on Genetic Diversity in Growth, Yield and Quality Traits in Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.)

Evaluation of 35 genotypes of tomato for yield, quality and fruit characters under net-house revealed that PCV was higher than GCV for most traits. High heritability, with moderate to high GCV and genetic gain, was recorded for number of fruits per plant, yield per plant, fruit weight, number of fruit-clusters per plant, polar diameter and number of flower-clusters per plant indicating, that, these characters could be improved by simple selection. Total yield per plant had positive and highly significant correlation with number of fruit-clusters per plant, number of flowerclusters per plant and fruit weight. Number of locules per fruit showed positive and significant correlation with fruit weight and equatorial diameter but, significant negative correlation with polar diameter. Maximum direct contribution to total yield per plant was made by number of fruits per plant, followed by number of locules per fruit

A Comparison of Manual Nylon Bristle Toothbrushes versus Thermoplastic Elastomer Toothbrushes in Terms of Cleaning Efficacy and the Biological Potential Role on Gingival Health

Featured Application This study was designed to evaluate changes in toothbrush-dependent oral hygiene scores as well as plaque removal efficacy measured as the Oral Hygiene Index (OHI), Gingival Index (GI) and Plaque Index (PI), comparing an entirely rubber-like material called thermoplastic elastomer with a soft toothbrush (nylon bristles, standard control). Background: It is well-known that toothbrushing might be associated with the development of oral soft tissue lesions. There is currently a continuing increase in the demand for new safety and performing materials in daily homecare oral hygiene including soft and extra-soft toothbrush bristles that tend to be safer. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of plaque control and the potential effects on gingival health of two different toothbrush bristle models. Methods: In a three-month period, a total of forty subjects were evaluated for Oral Hygiene Index (OHI), Gingival Index (GI) and Plaque Index (PI) scores as well the Gingival Abrasion Assessment (GAA) between a toothbrush entirely made from a rubber-like material called thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) and a soft toothbrush (standard control with nylon bristles) in a clinical, single-blind, controlled, parallel-group trial. Results: The use of the TPE toothbrush allows a reduction in the PI, improves the OHI and modifies the GAA in the TPE group over a period of three months compared with a conventional soft bristle toothbrush applied for the same period, leading in this way evidence for a good influence of the TPE bristles on overall oral hygiene conditions. Conclusions: From the comparison between our data and the literature studies, we can state that the material and shape of the bristles of the toothbrush affect the home practice of oral hygiene. The TPE bristles reduce the presence of plaque formation and gingival bleeding, oral soft tissue injuries acquired during homecare oral hygiene

Dental-Derived Stem Cells and Their Secretome and Interactions with Bioscaffolds/Biomaterials in Regenerative Medicine: From the In Vitro Research to Translational Applications

Regenerative dentistry is an innovative field of medicine that is growing involving both dental and maxillofacial sciences. Clinical healing occurs when new regenerated tissue is well integrated into the previously damaged host tissue: in this context, the reparative and regenerative actions of resident and recruited mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been thoroughly performed. In the most recent literature, the MSC-produced secretome has been widely studied and it has been even more considered as the strategic promoter of the vast majority of the biological effects derived from stem cell transplantation. Dental-derived mesenchymal stem cells (D-dMSCs) are today considered as an intriguing milestone of the regenerative medicine as such cells have been reported to have a strong ability to differentiate into osteogenic, adipogenic, and chondrogenic lineages, with a peculiar ability to improve the bone mineralization. Complete healing might be achieved by establishing novel strategies, by using scaffolds in combination with oral-derived MSCs in the presence of secretome and growth. The interaction between stem cells and biomaterials is a crucial topic; recent research trends were focused and developed on the interaction both at superficial macroscopic level and at structural microscopic level. About the first ones, involving the researches on scaffold-related macroscopic features, there are evidences that geometrical and mechanical properties of scaffolds are able to influence the cell behavior and their response to differentiating stimulations. Among the manufacturing processes that can be used to fabricate biomimetic scaffolds, the strategy based on the combination of additive manufacturing and computer-aided design (CAD) modelling seems to be one of the most promising. The possibility to design and create any shape for the newly produced scaffolds, and the scientifically confirmed evidence that scaffold geometry plays a crucial role in influencing the MSC response, led researchers towards an increasing attention to scaffold design; more in details, bioengineers designed complex morphologies able to be reproduced on the surfaces of porous biomaterials. Other types of research studies were related to microscopic features of scaffolds, demonstrating that many changes in scaffold microarchitecture modified, for example, the adhesion of stem cells to the scaffold surfaces. The adhesion of stem cells to scaffold is a biologically guided result of complex cellular, physical, and chemical processes, and it is an essential requirement to guarantee a proper and effective tissue engineering aimed to healing and regenerative applications. Differently from the huge number of studies focused on biochemical reactions that trigger stem cell differentiation, very few studies are reported in the scientific literature about how the mechanical environment affects the adhesion of stem cells on biomaterials’ surfaces. We believe that extensive studies will be carried out on this topic in the next few years. However, much still needs to be elucidated in order to be able to create efficient and safe bioartificial substitutes for clinical use

Probiotics May Improve Serum Folate Availability in Pregnant Women: A Pilot Study

BACKGROUND: Probiotics are living microorganisms that confer a health benefit when administered in adequate amounts. There is evidence in the current literature about the importance of probiotic use in pregnancy. The early supplementation of probiotics in the perinatal and postnatal periods seems to have a positive impact on the overall mother’s health and future health of infants. AIM: Our pilot study aimed to test the ability of specific probiotics strains in combination with the kiwi-unique enzyme actinidin to improve the availability of folic acid in 20 pregnant women. METHODS: We investigate 20 pregnant women in early (4–10 weeks) (6 patients), intermedium (11–20 weeks) (6 patients), and late (21–30 weeks) (8 patients) pregnancy. RESULTS: Our findings show that the tested formula promotes increased concentration of serum folate in women’s blood and contributes to the control of blood sugar and body weight, regardless of the gestational period (early, intermediate or late). CONCLUSIONS: Our data support the main results reported in the scientific literature about the importance of probiotics intake in pregnancy

Efficacy of Sea Salt-Based Mouthwash and Xylitol in Improving Oral Hygiene among Adolescent Population: A Pilot Study

The scientific community has definitely demonstrated the importance of the use of mouthwash in daily oral hygiene. In our pilot study, we tested the effectiveness of a novel mouth rinse containing sea salt, xylitol, and lysozyme. Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) growth, and plaque index in adolescent patients aged 14–17 years, were observed. The bacterial load was investigated by in vitro microbiological analysis; the plaque index was assessed through the O’Leary’s Plaque Control Record (PCR). The study has shown that the use of a sea salt-based mouthwash in daily oral hygiene reduces the bacterial levels of S. mutans (p < 0.01) linked to the combined action of xylitol and lysozyme, together with the action of sea salt. Our preliminary data confirm and improve the main results reported in the scientific literature on the importance of the use of xylitol, lysozyme, and sea salt in oral health

Probiotics Improve Urogenital Health in Women

BACKGROUND: Urogenital recurrent infections represent a global medical issue in the world, affecting millions of women because of dramatic shifts in bacterial composition and concentrations in response to numerous endogenous and exogenous factors. Urogenital microbiota forms a mutually beneficial relationship with their host and has a major impact on health and disease. AIM: This study aimed to compare probiotic therapy versus placebo in Oxidative Stress Values (OSVs) and histological features in urogenital infections in female patients. METHODS: Forty (n = 40) patients diagnosed with recurrent urogenital infections were recruited to be treated as test group (n = 20), receiving Probiotics, and a control group (n = 20), receiving looking similar placebo, both for 90 days. Both the groups were assessed for total oxidant capacity (d-ROMs test) and biological antioxidant potential as iron-reducing activity (BAP test) at baseline, after 1 and 3 months. Histological changes on inner vaginal mucosa were also investigated, during the entire study. RESULTS: d-ROM assay clearly showed that the values of the test group were significantly different, thus leading the general health conditions from a state of high oxidative stress to low oxidative stress levels. Increasing of BAP values were more significant, and clinically relevant, in probiotic test group over time. CONCLUSION: Our pilot study gave interesting and promising elements to confirm the safety and effectiveness of oral probiotics in preventing/reducing the recurrent urogenital infections by an overall modification of inner vaginal microbiota

Non-syndromic oral clefts and risk of cancer: a systematic review

Objective: To discuss the risk of cancer among relatives of individuals with cleft lip and palate (CL/P), as well as the risk of CL/P among relatives of individuals with cancer, since studies published currently have suggested  an increased risk of cancer among relatives of cleft individuals. Design: A systematic literature review was carried out in accordance with the Cochrane Collaboration Group protocol, including literature search strategy, selection of papers through the inclusion and exclusion criteria, data extraction and quality assessment. PubMed, Scopus and ISI - Web of Science databases were systematically searched using the fallowing search strings: “cleft lip and palate” AND “cancer”, “oral clefts” AND “cancer” and “orofacial clefts” AND “cancer”. Results: From 653 studies accessed, 8 comprised the final sample: 6 investigating CL/P index cases and their family history of cancer and 2 investigating individuals with cancer and their family history for CL/P. The sample sizes were not homogeneous. Oral clefts, the type of cancer and the degree of kinship family were not categorized in all studies. Leukemia, breast cancer and colon cancer were the most cited types, even as first-and-second degree relatives. Conclusions: An increased risk of cancer among relatives of cleft individuals could not be entirely confirmed. However, studies with this specific purpose suggest that first-and-second degrees relatives of cleft individuals have some types of cancer more often than unexposed families, highlighting that future studies should expand their samples to investigate possible common molecular mechanisms that allow relating oral clefts and cancer